White teeth aren’t necessarily healthy
Q: We've taken Eli, our poodle, to the same groomer for the past seven years. He loves going there and looks fabulous when they are done. They also clean his teeth and he has a beautiful smile when they finish. But our vet tells us that the groomer's dental work is not good enough and his teeth should be cleaned at the clinic. This means anesthesia and an expensive vet bill. The vet insists the groomer can't do the job, even though Eli looks so good afterwards. My husband thinks the vet is trying to drum up more business. She's a good veterinarian, and I usually trust her judgement. What's the story here?
No surprise, police protection tops the taxpayer list, so …
Not surprised that the people polled say that police and fire protection is tops on the list of what they’re willing to pay for either via an additional half-cent sales tax or a parcel tax. It’s slam-dunk predictable. So, we’ll see how this “quality of life” tax evolves through the process and, perhaps, whether or not the people are willing to pay for it if a proposal gets through the City Council and onto the ballot. It’s hard to argue that the people shouldn’t have their “say”, so it’s a likelihood Gilroyans will get a chance to speak out come November ... never a dull political moment in little ol’ Garlictown, USA.
Learning the ins and outs of a vineyard
Last month I got as close to heaven as any oenophile has ever been. I’m not much of a camper, but when Matt Levy, public relations and marketing manager, invited me to attend Camp Schramsberg, a three-day sparkling wine seminar at Schramsberg Vineyards in Calistoga, I jumped at the chance. Schramsberg Vineyards has been producing sparkling wine since 1965 when they became the first U.S. producer to use Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes in the méthode champenoise (where a secondary fermentation occurs while the wine is in the bottle - thus producing bubbles). These sparkling wines are so good that in 1972, the Blanc de Blancs was served at the historic “Toast to Peace” in Beijing, between President Richard Nixon and Premier Zhou Enlai. To this day, Schramsberg’s wines are still being served in the White House.
